Volunteerism evident if you look around

Thursday

Nov 29, 2007 at 2:00 AM

I often hear the comment that people don't volunteer much anymore. I'm not sure what the basis of that is, whether people really don't offer their time up or whether the need for volunteers simply is increasing faster than the supply. But my experience, particularly at this time of year, is that there are a lot of people who volunteer both their time and their money.

I often hear the comment that people don't volunteer much anymore. I'm not sure what the basis of that is, whether people really don't offer their time up or whether the need for volunteers simply is increasing faster than the supply. But my experience, particularly at this time of year, is that there are a lot of people who volunteer both their time and their money.

In last week's Coast Star, we published a list of some of the volunteer opportunities that are available. It was loaded with churches, groups and individuals that were fully engaged in food drives or restaurants hosting Thanksgiving Day meals to raise money for needy families.

I actually had two stories in last week's paper that featured the Wells Junior High School. In one, the kids collected over 1,200 food items for distribution through the York County Shelter's Food program. That's a great effort by just over 400 kids.

But it was the second activity that really impressed me. That's the annual Thanksgiving Day dinner that the school puts on for senior citizens in Wells and Ogunquit. I knew this happened every year, but until this year, I had never attended one. What an event it was! The entire school — administration, faculty and staff, students and parents — was engaged in one way or another, whether it was baking pies, serving meals, or hanging up coats. And that engagement created a level of enthusiasm that was noticeable as soon as I walked in the door a half hour before the event even started.

When the seniors arrived, the atmosphere got even better. It was a true community event that involved people of all ages interacting and having a good time as a result. And that was the direct result of people volunteering.

It's also contagious. The Wells Ogunquit Center at Moody hosts an ice cream social in the spring for the junior high kids. It's a way they show appreciation for the dinner. It's also a way to keep the connection strong between the elderly and the kids that the dinner initially fostered 12 years ago.

Those are just two things. Think about the group of Ogunquit residents that banded together to help their neighbor Isabel Lewando get back and forth to the hospital during cancer treatments and to bring food over so she wouldn't have to cook while undergoing therapy. That's just one example.

Think of the response to the families in Kennebunk's Intervale section who were victimized two straight years by flooding. Our own reporter Laura Dolce organized a dinner to help raise money for the families. Again, that's just one example.

Think of the dozens and dozens of people in our towns who volunteer for the various boards and committees. The last I heard, those folks don't get much in the way of reimbursement. Yet they give freely of their time.

And those are only the most visible. What about the fellow in Ogunquit who has quietly taken care of the ancient cemetery near his house or the folks that go out and collect water samples to make sure our beaches stay clean? There are probably thousands of examples like that in our towns.

I've been a member of the Wells Rotary for nearly a year now, and I've seen first-hand the work that a group like that does to help the community. At a recent meeting, I was talking with the club's president, Tony Cilluffo, about volunteerism. He said he'd also heard that there was a lack of volunteering these days, but said he didn't see such a lack, at least not in Wells.

I agree with Tony, though I wouldn't limit myself to Wells alone.

I've done a little bit of volunteering in my life, probably not as much as I should be doing. But I'll tell you this. Every time I've done volunteer work, I probably ended up feeling better than the people who benefited from the efforts. That's the secret of volunteering: the reward is greater than the level of effort. Sounds trite, but it's true.

So, for those of you who volunteer, thank you and keep up the good work

For those of you who don't, give it a try. There's plenty to do and you'll find you actually will enjoy it.

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